Return
by Xen Silver Quill
Summary: "Throwing her head back she roared in the direction of the small sea shack on the cliff above her. The seal's bark echoed off the cliffs, eagerly calling for the one who lived above." [A long hunting trip out at sea finally sees Jasper home after half a year, and she and her human lover are quite eager to see one another again. Selkie!Jaspis AU.]


Wave after wave crashed upon the sea cliffs. Sunlight sparkled off the frothing white foam like diamonds in the water, the crashing turning into a roaring as it broke upon the shore. Over the sound of the sea, however, could be heard the distant roaring bark of seal-song. From far out in the blue came the head of a great leopard seal, golden eyes sparking and black stripes bold against her mottled brown hide. It had been a long six moons since she had returned to these shores, and her massive heart beat in her chest as she all but sprinted in her swim for the shore.

With one last heave out of the water she touched upon the sand. Throwing her head back she roared in the direction of the small sea shack on the cliff above her. Her bark echoed off the cliffs, eagerly calling for the one who lived above them.

* * *

Lapis sat cross legged in the window seat overlooking the crashing waves. Bundled in leggings and an oversized sweater, the young woman lay her head on the cool glass. It was a gorgeous autumn day, a chill to the air despite the rays of the sun, but it still looked bleak to its lonely viewer. Six months. It had been six months since she had last seen her love. Was Jasper all right? Had she gotten hurt? It was such a vast ocean out there.

Setting down her hot mug with a sigh, the woman closed her book, page saved with a handmade marker. She missed her gorgeous selkie...

As if drawn by her wishful thoughts, a barking call echoed up to her beach house. Darting from her seat, Lapis did not even pause long enough to put her shoes on. She ran out the door, across the yard, and down the long wooden staircase built into the cliff side. "Jasper!" Lapis called, sprinting across the beach to the large body lounging in the sand.

* * *

The seal's gaze eagerly followed the woman as she ran down the steps, and her bark turned into a near-gleeful yip as Lapis drew closer. Pushing herself up high on her forelimbs, Jasper tilted her wedge of a head back. A breathy sigh escaped her as her hide split in two from her chin all the way down to her tail. Large hands emerged to push the skin aside, and tall, heavily-muscled woman with a wild white mane stood where the seal had been before.

"Lapis," she rumbled, golden-eyes half-closed as she lifted the human up mid-stride and spun around with her. Pressing her lover to her naked chest, she nuzzled and growled into the smaller woman's hair. "It's been a while..."

* * *

The sight had once freaked her out, watching a body step free of the large seal, but now it was a welcomed appearance. A bubbling laugh escaped her as she launched herself into her lover's arms. Her own slim arms wrapped around Jasper's neck, delicate body fitting perfectly along the muscular form.

"I've missed you so much," she murmured into the warm skin, nuzzling her way between the smooth breasts. Her selkie smelled of ocean and fish: a surprisingly refreshing scent, and one overlaid with a musk that was uniquely Jasper. Every point of contact was ecstatic for her. "You've been gone so long, love…"

* * *

"Hmph, missed you, too," the selkie replied huskily, lifting her little human up again. Kneeling down in the surf she peppered the small neck with kisses and nips, attempting to make up for a long half-year's absence. Meanwhile her calloused palms roamed over every inch of skin she could reach, combing through Lapis' hair and rubbing down her back in the way she knew her human loved.

"Spent a few months with my kin down the south," she explained between breaths. "Got a little side tracked and ran into some hunters..." There was a long, jagged scar across her torso that had not been there when they had last met. Jasper's lungs hitched ever so slightly as she breathed in and out, her aching chest still tender and healing within. Gods above and below the sea, but she scarcely cared now that she was back here with her lover.

* * *

A bright smile lit up her face. Where others may have found the gruff attitude off-putting, Lapis could hear and feel the affection that filled her selkie's words. Uncaring of the cold water lapping at her lower body, the woman pressed in closer. She hummed lightly, tipping her head to the side to expose more of her throat, smaller hands rubbing over the bare toned chest and shoulders. Jasper's every caress was perfect. The selkie knew exactly where and how Lapis loved to be touched.

"Jasper!" Nuzzling the other's chest again, her roaming hands stilled as the brushed over the gnarled gash of skin. The woman pulled back, both hands frantically flitting over the scar. "Are you okay? Does it still hurt? I knew something bad must have happened!"

* * *

"Heh, I'm fine," Jasper rumbled, shrugging off the mark as if it were nothing. "You know I'm tougher than that. 'Sides, that hunter won't be bothering me or my cousins again anytime soon." Hoisting up the woman and picking up her discarded pelt, Jasper began walking back towards the house above the cliff. Her first few steps were stumbling and awkward as they always were when she returned to land, but a few more strides and she found her balance again.

"So what about you, little blue? Haven't found anyone else while I was gone, have you?"

* * *

"I know you're tough, but that doesn't stop me from worrying." A pout tugged at Lapis' lower lip. Lapis nuzzled the larger woman as she was picked up, hooking her arms around Jasper's neck to lay her head on the strong shoulder. "There's no replacing you…" Giggling as they walked, she wiggled her toes in the air, kissing the warm neck.

"Mmm well, there was this one other," she trailed off. "It was a cold and lonely winter here you know." The devious little woman kept her expression hidden, not wanting to give herself away with the smirk she knew was tugging at her lips.

* * *

Never let it be said that her kind was not of the prideful sort. Jasper was always one who liked to have her ego stroked. If she had not been holding the woman she would have been preening at the other's words like a selkie bull in his first mating season. As it was she just smirked and pressed a smirking nuzzle against her lover's hair.

"Oh, did you now?" the selkie grunted, lips turning down in a distinctive frown as they climbed up the last step and across the threshold of the house. Growling in the back of her throat, she all but tossed the woman on her bed and followed suit to pin Lapis' body beneath her own. She had been kidding when she asked the question, and the idea of her lover finding pleasure in the arms of another rather bothered her. More than just bothered her, really.

At the same time, however, Jasper thought she caught a note of humor in the other's voice and calmed down marginally. She still kept up the jealous façade, however, and leaned in close so that her hot breath fell across to the human's face.

"Well?" she rumbled low in her throat, nuzzling the side of Lapis' face and nipping the tip of her ear a bit sharply. "You gonna tell me their name? Then I can bring you back their head and skin for a trophy, you flirty little -"

Another rumble sounded from her - though this time it came from the direction of her stomach. It sounded again, and hunger was quick to begin gnawing at her cut. Snorting, she lifted herself off the bed and began sauntering in the direction of the kitchen, still quite wet and unclothed. Purposefully she flipped her long, white mane back to give a fleeting glance of shapely, naked backside, and Jasper smirked over her shoulder.

"Guess I'm just gonna have to go dig into that secret little stash of yours, then. Can't go hunting for your 'friend' on an empty belly, after all."

* * *

There were so many things about Jasper that Lapis just could not get enough of, and her long, flowing locks definitely made that list. Running her fingers through it absently, she head-bumped affectionately into the other's nuzzle. The smirk tugged harder at her lips, though she was careful to keep her expression hidden against her lover's neck; it would not do to expose herself too soon, after all.

"Oh I did," she singsonged, letting out a small 'oof!' as she hit the mattress before carefully neutralizing her expression. Unfortunately, the playful woman was unable to maintain it for long with the way her lover leaned in like that. Arms wide and framing her head, she let out a slow, hot breath, gasping with a soft flush at the nip to her ear. Oh how she had missed this. Jasper was a _force_ when she was jealous; not that Lapis would ever dare truly aim to hurt her lover. But a little harmless teasing?

"There's no fun in just telling you," she continued, giggling and rolling on to her belly as she was freed. Any more taunts sputtered and died in her throat as she took in the gorgeous form of her nude lover. It was not uncommon to see Jasper naked – selkies in both their forms had no need for clothing - but it was a treat she had missed during these past few months.

Propping her chin in her hands, laying on her belly over the covers, she kicked her legs in the air behind her and stared dreamily at her selkie. Those curves, the muscle, her size in general... Lapis wanted to swoon with every meeting, as if they were new love birds reuniting every time.

* * *

A few minutes later Jasper returned. She wore one of the many crop tops and jean shorts she kept stocked in Lapis' closet for her visits. Piled high on a plate in her hand was most every piece of meat she had been able to find in the pantry. For days on end and countless miles she had traveled from the far south to make it here; the selkie was very hungry indeed. Tossing back a choice piece of beef before she set the plate aside she settled on the bed again.

"Hmph, that one's new," Jasper rumbled as she chewed. Sidling up behind Lapis, she lay on her side and propped her head up to stare at the wall opposite them. "Where'd you get the inspiration, I wonder." It was really no question, though. In beautifully rendered water color was a striped leopard seal rising up out of the ocean. Gradually and in stages it the form of the seal shifted ever so slight until the familiar figure of a woman stood in the white surf of the beach. "Not a bad lookin' selkie if I do say so myself."

* * *

She waited patiently on the bed for her lover to return, absent-mindedly drawing circles on the comforter as she sang an old sea melody under her breath. Her life already felt brighter, less bleak, with Jasper's very presence. Heavy footsteps signaled the selkie's return. A soft laugh bubbled from the smaller woman as she shook her head fondly.

"I'm going to have to get groceries every day at this rate. I suppose it's for the best, though... At least you won't have fish-breath anymore," she teased, snuggling back into her lover's larger form. Drawing one muscular arm around her to hold it to her chest, Lapis hummed and looked over the painting of Jasper's interest.

"I finished that one about a month ago. My inspiration came from the most gorgeous selkie I have ever laid my eyes upon. I wanted to be able to see her every day." Glancing back, she kissed Jasper's jaw, lingering close to take in the scent of her love. "I missed you..."

* * *

At the feeling of the smaller woman's lips, the selkie rumbled contentedly and pulled the woman closer. She turned her head ever so slightly that they met in a brief kiss. Pulling away briefly she smirked down at Lapis, her wild and unkempt hair falling around them. Though she would never say as much aloud, she had rather missed the human's company, too.

"Well, you've got the real deal here now," Jasper replied, quirking a fine eyebrow at her lover. "And pretty as that picture is, I'd say I'm definitely better the better of the two." Rolling over so that she lay on her back. With Lapis was tucked into the crook of her arm, she rubbed her hand over the woman's flat belly. She hummed a light tune, the same as the human had been singing a moment ago.

* * *

If Lapis had not already been a near-puddle of goo in her selkie's arms, she would have melted entirely at the kiss. Though brief, it sparked their love and passion in so simple a contact. Sighing happily, she tangled her fingers in that wild mane; she adored the way it framed Jasper's face. Her own was looking to match after she had been carried and tossed about.

"My, my, quite the ego you've got there, little selkie," the woman teased, giggling as she was cradled and caressed. A tiny hand lay over Jasper's arm, merely another point of touch between them as her sweater was bunched up to expose her midriff.

"I have to agree, though," she added quietly, "You are the best thing that ever happened to me…" Rolling over, she clambered atop her larger lover, stretching out so their bellies touched. Her arms crossed over the voluptuous chest, face nuzzling into the soft breasts before resting her head on them. "Are you staying longer this time?"

* * *

"I'm anything but little," Jasper gumbled as she ruffled the other woman's hair. "And you're one to talk; I've met shrimp bigger and tougher than you." At her lover's compliment, the selkie was quite sure she had a grin on her face that would have given sharks nightmares. Laughing low in her chest, she bent her neck until she was touching noses with the other woman.

"Yeah, I plan on sticking around a while. My cousins wanted me to go on a hunting trip with them down south, but they know I like to go it on my own. Heh, well, mostly alone."

* * *

"Oh trust me, I know intimately just how big you are." The artist waggled her eyebrows with a snicker, nuzzling into the large hand. Their noses touched, Lapis' smile widening. She licked the other's nose with a flick of her tongue, following up with a small nip. "And you know I'm tough, no matter how tiny I am. Besides, what would you do without a small girlfriend to cradle close?"

Her smirk softened into a tender, true smile, her short arms wrapping about the selkie in a tight hug. "Really? Will you stay all summer?" Would it be too much to ask for the winter as well?

* * *

"You know if I stick around too long those pesky sea lions that call themselves my kin come looking for me," Jasper rumbled as she wrapped her arms around the woman. The selkie had to suppress a snarl at the thought of them before her lips curled up in a smile again. "But then again... I think it's about time they met you anyway. And they know how to get in touch with me if they really need to. So yeah... I think I'll stay. Right now, though..." Flipping the both of them over until Lapis was pinned beneath her again. The selkie's eyes took on a warm, honeyed light as she stared down at the woman.

"You and I have a lot of catching up to do." Leaning down she finally captured her lover's mouth in a real kiss. She was all but purring against the human as she supported Lapis' head between her hands. Tongue sliding across Lapis' lips, the selkie hummed as her eyes slid shut.

* * *

"I know," she whispered, tucking herself into the larger woman. It was not fair that she had to split the only good thing in her life with others so far away. All she wanted was for Jasper to be able to remain here - with her - where they could be happy together and Lapis would not have to be so alone anymore.

Her growing despair lifted with an elated gasp as she was suddenly pinned down. Small hands cupped the selkie's cheeks, thumbs caressing under her eyes.

"You really mean it? You're going to stay?" With a bubble of laughter, she eagerly melted into her lover, arms slipping around the other's neck as she submitted to her lover. Lips parting with a shaky, excited breath, she run her knuckles up and down the top of Jasper's spine. The white mane of hair fell around them, creating a space where only they existed together.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm staying," the selkie rumbled, breathless but smiling. She rubbed their cheeks together softly, placing a kiss on Lapis' temple.

There was no greater prize in all the seas and oceans of the world than eliciting a smile or laugh from her human. She had kept those memories close to her for the thousands of miles she had swam to return to her lover's home. On the roughest seas and the darkest nights, the promise of Lapis waiting for her on the other side was sometimes all that kept her going.

Because though her lover might not have realized, the selkie had been pining for her just as badly. Lapis did not need to take her sealskin to make Jasper stay. For as far as the selkie was concerned, there was nowhere else she belonged but in this human's arms. She had lost everything to her little mate ages ago – her heart, her body, and her soul.

"Far as I'm concerned, this place is home," she laughed, yet another smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "I just hope you keep that smile on your face when my cousins come poking their noses around here."

* * *

The first part of what we (me and Tarnit) hope to make a longer AU series. We hope you all enjoyed it! :D Comments/kudos are always appreciated!


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